Star Wars: Shadows
by Jdude300
Summary: Clone commander Cassus must lead a specialized top secret battalion while struggling with his own personal demons.
1. Prologue

Star Wars: Shadows

Prologue

The soft whir of the LAAT/i gunship was reassuring, at least for a few moments. None of the soldiers had ever been in a real battle. They had faced live rounds before, they had even lost brothers in training. But the commander of the 224th battalion would have been lying if he said he wasn't scared. Clones were made to die, but they were still people.

"Doors open in two minutes." The pilot yelled. The gunship began it's entry into the Geonosian atmosphere. When the doors clicked open, anti-aircraft fire exploded all around. The geonosian fighters had engaged with the GAR gunships. One of the enemy ships flew by too close for comfort, leaving behind a trail of thick black smoke. Commander Cassus clutched his rifle a little tighter. They were almost to the ground when things got tricky. Two geonosian fighters shot a wing off the right side of the LAAT/i.

After two full rolls, the ship fell like a rock. Thirteen of the thirty men jumped out. The rest burned in the wreckage. Cassus hit the ground hard. After rolling once he was on his feet and firing into the column of oncoming B1 battle droids. His DC-15a cut down the first row of five. Then the machines opened fire. The other soldiers were already up and shooting. The field of dust was a cacophony of shouts, blaster fire, and explosions. Then the enemy fire stopped. Fifty yards away from the Commander was a pile of around thirty droids. He counted seven men besides himself still moving.

"Status report!" He barked at the private.

"Six confirmed dead. The rest of us are wounded. We're running low on ammunition. Captain Jynx and the rest of the battalion have begun their attack on the droid tank factory. We are ten kilometers from their location. No other assets." Derek said somberly.

"Let's move. Form up and move towards the factory." Cassus took point, Jogging at a brisk pace, even for a clone. After a half hour they began hearing the shots of artillery. Cassus stopped, listened, and then turned east.

"Sir, the factory is North, not east." Derek said skeptically. "Where are we going?"

"A quick detour." They came up to a small cliff. Cassus heard the men give a small gasp, and a few cussed in mandalorian. Fifty feet below them were twelve artillery guns, each one firing round after round towards the factory. If anyone from 224th battalion was still alive, they wouldn't be able to enter the factory with these guns pounding the area just before the entrance. If the squad attacked, they would be killed almost instantly. Then one man shot his ascension cable into the ground at his feet. Slowly, one by one, every man did the same.

Cassus did the same. Without saying anything, the men jumped. They stopped three meters above the ground, then let go. Droids began firing at them at once. Screams flooded the helmet com system. Men dropped all around him. He ran out of ammo for his rifle and switched to his pistol. Then he realized he was the last man standing.

"Come at me Shabuïr. For the republic!" He yelled charging at one of the super battle droids. The two raised their arms to shoot, but Cassus shot the first twice beneath the arm. The second attempted to shoot through its companion. Cassus shoved the decommissioned droid forward, using it as a shield. When he was right next to the next one, he fired three rounds point blank into the head of his attacker.

Two columns of B1s marched towards him. He saw a pile of artillery rounds eight meters from him. He threw the grenade on his belt. With one flash of light his world went black.


	2. Command

"_You don't fight like normal men. Normal men stop running, stop shooting, stop punching, stop living. You will fight better." _

- Sargent Ehud, Member of the Cuy'Val Dar,

Seven years before the battle of Geonosis

1

Command

Cassus woke up in a med bay. He was surprised he was alive. Then he saw the droid next to him. With one move he ripped its head off. Then Cassus reached for the surgery knife it was carrying. He jumped out of bed and ripped of the curtain surrounding his bed. 'The seps caught me' he thought. There were men he didn't recognize. With horror he saw his reflection. His entire left cheek was a crisscross of scars, and there was a red line from his right temple down to his left jawbone. He had a prosthetic left eye and a severely broken nose. It also appeared he had broken his jaw and had it reset.

He made a move to rush out of the enemy medbay when he saw two clone MP's in gray armor. The commander lowered the knife cautiously. They took one step apart, and in between them walked a man in brown and tan robes. This had to be one of the jedi generals.

"Hello trooper, my name is Boaz." The man said in a liquid voice. He lowered his hood to reveal a human face. "I am a gurlanin. We are shape shifters. I thought this would be less frightening than my actual form. Are you well enough to walk?" Cassus felt a dull pain in his right leg, but other than that was good.

"Yes, Sir." The commander said formally. They began to walk down the hallways of what Cassus guessed was a _Venator _class cruiser.

"You performed well on Geonosis Commander. Your efforts allowed the destruction of a factory and the ability to take an entire sector of the planet. The men under your command were unfortunately killed in action. We were able to form one company from the entirety of your battalion. They are currently deployed with the 212th. We are orbiting Coruscant. And I have a job for you. The war has been going on for two months."

"The republic commissioned nine specialized Battalions called Shadow Battalions. Six were destroyed on the trip to Geonosis. The nav computer flew them through a sun. The other three are currently in cryogenic stasis. We plan to thaw one of these, The 3rd Shadow Battalion, for a mission. They need a commanding officer. I am offering you that position. We also need you to lead a specialist squad we put together. Will you help me?" The general had shapeshifted from a human into a black creature with glossy fur. His orange eyes looked up questioningly.

"What's the difference between this battalion and other clone units?"

"They can adapt to almost any environment, they can operate alone, and they are most comfortable far behind enemy lines." The Gurlanin smiled, showing his fangs.

"Who's in this specialist squad?" Cassus asked, still getting used to speaking. The wolf-like face smiled again.

"Follow me." The gurlanin led him into an office. On the table were six profiles. Cassus picked up the first one. A blaze trooper photo was on the front.

"That's Dante. He's a pyromaniac. The next one is a republic commando. His name is Dom. He was being considered for reconditioning because he loved his job too much. He's been caught on multiple occasions building homemade bombs. They've both been diagnosed with clinical insanity. The sniper is an ARC trooper. Your tech expert is a genius. His genes got screwed up during the cloning. He actually rewired the machines when he was two years old so the kaminoans wouldn't find out. The ARC is Jacob, and we call the engineer Ben. The medic is the best. He's called Patch. He lost his eye and refuses to get a prosthetic, so he wears an eye patch. He's also a scout trooper, and possibly the best at that as well."

"You're going to have your hands full with the last two. One wears a prototype armour. He stands about as tall as an AT-RT in full battle gear. He is great at fighting, but he just doesn't stop. He snuck out of med bay to be deployed. John is his name. The other is a clone assassin. He loves his job, unfortunately. He's your melee expert. His name is Solomon" The General smiled. "What do you think?"

"Sir, all do respect, these men are lunatics." Cassus said horrified.

"Of course they're crazy, but they're the best at what they do. You have two months to train them. I will give the mission layout after that time. Dismissed." The General was extremely cheery. and Cassus didn't like it. The men he was in charge of were loose cannons.


	3. Training

_You are only as strong as the person standing next to you._

- Mandalorian Military Saying

2

Training

Ben dropped when the shot hit him. Another took Dante out of the fight. Dom dove behind a tree before the sniper could take aim a third time. Patch ran across a small clearing and slid behind the low dirt wall. Two shots hit the wall just after he was safe.

"Who's still in the fight?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"The Blaze trooper got hit, and so did Ben. The sniper is in a tree about thirty meters up. We need to move." Dom barked.

"After you." The medic said gesturing with his hand towards the northwest. Dom hated a this plan, but he didn't have any better ideas. He got up and ran.

**xxxxxXxxxxx**

John reached for his water bottle. He wasn't used to fighting outside of the mark 1 _Goliath_ armour, but he could manage. After a nice long drink, he continued to jog. Most clones liked their helmets on, but not John. He preferred not relying on tech.

Then he heard the shots. He replaced his helmet and began speaking over the short range comm. He wanted to use the long range comms, but that would paint a nice big target on his back, telling his enemy right where he was. The humid jungle was quiet except for the occasional crack of blaster fire.

John began to run. He had to make it to the RV point or this whole plan would fall through. The ARC trooper was their enemy in this moc battle. He had won three times already. 'But not this time' John thought.

He arrived to find Solomon waiting for him. Solomon wasn't brooding, though he had seemed like that at first. Solomon just didn't feel when he wasn't fighting. He wasn't even cold, just a complete lack of emotion. When he was doing his job, he took a sadistic joy in it that scared every other member of the team.

Solomon didn't speak, he just started jogging in front of John. They went in silence towards the center of the jungle. When they arrived, they saw the ARC trooper a hundred yards away at most.

John took careful aim with his rifle as Solomon continued around. After two minutes, he fired a round of automatic stun bursts. None hit, but the ARC was definitely caught off guard. Then John heard the loud noise and saw the bright glare of a flashbang grenade that went off right below the tree. The ARC dropped out of the tree, and began to charge toward John. John fired off one more burst before he ran for cover.

Three rounds spat from the ARC's rifle. John felt a shot hit him in the back. He dropped, and everything went black.

**xxxxxXxxxxx**

Even the best of plans fell apart when the first shot was fired. No one had expected Jacob to charge after the pilot. After switching from three round burst to semi automatic, he slowed his pace.

The Westar M5 rifle was ice cold. Rain began to pour down into the thick canopy of trees. Jacob began to jog again, feeling the rain pelt his face. He replaced the red helmet and slung the rifle across his aching back. Then the lone ARC heard it: the crack of branches and leaves. Most wets wouldn't even hear it; much less think anything of it. But Jacob knew better. Raising his sidearm, he slowly crept through the hedge. Then it burst into synthetic flame. Jacob sprinted out right into Dante. Apparently a body shot wouldn't stop a blaze trooper in full armor.

The surprised pyromaniac backhanded him across the small clearing. Though the flames now spewing from his arm mounted weapons was harmless, it still looked all too real. A volley of shots from his side arm slowed the behemoth, if only for a moment. Then, over the troopers loudspeaker, Jacob heard the sadistic laugh of the persistent pyro.

"What's the matter ARC? Do you want me to fight fair?" Dante laughed again. Without a word, Jacob tossed his only flashbang grenade. The flare made his eyes burn even with a helmet filter. Before Dante could react, Jacob was firing burst after burst from his rifle. The massive soldier fell to his knees. Jacob didn't stop though. He never stopped until the body stopped squirming. Dante was alive, but he was definitely unconscious.

You're dead," whispered a monotone voice from behind him. He turned around just in time to receive an electro staff to the stomach.

**xxxxxXxxxxx**

Cassus watched as the clones loaded up their prisoner. Technically, the exercise wasn't over until the ARC prisoner was returned to base or until the ARC eliminated all opposition. In the sealed balcony, the rain splashed onto the roof. The training grounds on Nallastia had turned into a mud course in a matter of seconds. The planet Fondor hung ominously above the jungle moon, barely visible through the thick clouds. With a soft whir the doors behind him opened. He didn't even flinch as the gurlanin crawled in. Cassus must have gotten used to hiding his hate of the Jedi.

"They have performed well in this past month. I am happy you decided to accept this position. I have a practice assignment for you." The liquid voice of the gurlanin poured out. "You and your squad will take a landing craft to the planet Fondor. After you land you will capture one of the only organic run buildings left. Inside is the coordinates for the planet we must go to for our next assignment. The owner of the building must be captured alive. This must be executed perfectly." The jedi stopped and looked up at Cassus with his disturbing orange eyes. "Can you do this comander? Are you ready to fight again?"

Cassus felt a chill run down his spine. The scars on his left cheek began to ach. His hand unconsciously went to the dull red line on his face.

"I can do this, sir." He said quietly. Boaz looked unconvinced. After a long, awkward pause, the jedi left. Cassus turned on his heel and walked out. He was back in the war.


	4. Deployment

_Your mistakes don't define you, it's what you do after the mistake that matters._

-Cin Vhetin

3

Deployment

The gunship flew close to the large industrial buildings of Fondor. Two smoke stacks spewed toxic vapors into the polluted atmosphere. Very little could be seen through the slits in the LAAT/i doors. Then, with a rush, the doors slid open. Ben pulled the DC-15s closer to his chest. Dom reached up and pulled his DC-17 from the bolt-on rack attached to the roof. The gunship dropped lower. Cassus gripped the handle tighter, remembering the last time he stepped on a gunship was before Geonosis. Two clones looked uncomfortable in their phase 1 armor. Dante and John each reached for their DC-15a rifles. They would have trouble fighting in the unfamiliar armor, but they could still shoot. Patch checked his pistol, and holstered it. They were ready, or at least as much as eight people who have only fought together in simulations can be.

The gunship hovered a meter above the ground. Dante, John, Cassus, Solomon, and Ben all wore standard trooper armor. Dom chose his commando armor, Patch wore camo scout trooper armor, and Jacob wore ARC armor.

Dom ran to the door, placed a small charge on the lock, chuckled maniacally, and blew it up. The commander and the scout rushed in, each firing a short automatic bursts with their shorter rifles. Solomon sprinted through the opening, firing his side arm while drawing his throwing blade. The rest of the team came in, firing at anything that moved. When all the shooting stopped, Patch counted twenty six dead Trandoshans, Zabraks, Anzati, and even a few odd species in mandalorian armor. They were in a massive warehouse.

Patch saw three cranes and two dozen speeders in multiple stages of completion. There was a series of catwalks and light fixtures above the factory floor. After rounding a corner, ben saw a figure in all black raise a rifle. Before he could shoot, Patch felt a piercing pain in his chest. Then it stopped. Everything stopped.

Jacob rounded the corner of a large speeder truck. They needed to find the leader fast. This mission seemed too quiet. Something whizzed past his ear. Not many clones would have heard that noise. Jacob would have recognized the sound of a silenced ACP repeater anywhere after Raxus Prime though. He turned and fired from the hip into a heavily armored trandoshan on the catwalk in black spec-ops gear.

"Ambush!" He yelled as three more rounds screamed past his head. They weren't using suppressors now.

Cassus shot two rounds into the seven hostiles on the floor. One dropped and another grabbed his leg. There was a small explosion, and the group was gone. 'Probably one of Dom's disintegration grenades.' Thought Cassus.

"Dom, now explosives in this close of quarters. We don't want to die." Cassus said calmly through his helmet com. There was an audible sigh, obviously from the crazed explosive expert.

The commander was shocked back to reality by a spurt of rounds from a trandoshan behind cover. The Heavy Repeater gun shot round after round at Cassus' position of cover. He crouched below the half completed speeder. John and Ben both rounded the corner behind the gunner. A few blaster shots dropped him.

The clones were pushed back towards the center of the factory. They formed a circle towards the center of the factory floor. Blaster shots spat from every clone. No one spoke. No one even breathed. The surrounded clones just kept shooting.

The large window on the north side shattered as thirty clones spilled from a black gunship. The clones wore armor slightly different from the phase 1 Cassus wore. On the south side, ten clones and general Boaz stormed in. With one jump the jedi was on the second level. He sprinted across the central catwalk, removing any hostiles with a short lightsaber on the way. Cassus sprinted with his men to the south side, catching thirty armed enemies in the crossfire. The specialists were rushed onto the landing craft. The engines began to whine as the ground became further away.

Cassus had led his men blindly into an ambush. He counted heads. He still didn't see the ARC, Patch, or Solomon.

Several shots hit the side of the gunship. Two speeders pulled up beside the truck. They obviously didn't expect a madman with a grenade launcher. The right speeder plummeted into a factory's smokestack. A clone lieutenant shot the driver of the one on the left, causing a death spiral into an unsuspecting civilian.

Then the doors shut, and Cassus again tightly grasped the handle. Some of the new clones yelled and cheered, but for him, it was just another three men he had failed.


	5. Promises of War

"_Mandalorians don't make threats. We make promises."_

-Canderous Ordo

4

Promises of war.

Ben heard the gunship shutdown, but his stomach was still lurching. Three men dead and possibly a jedi. Four clones in odd armor walked past him, laughing as they went. Ben didn't know if he would laugh again. Clones were bred to die, but he hadn't been on Geonosis. These were the first men he had lost. It hurt.

He heard the hum of a second gunship. The doors opened to reveal a mass of clones. The general stepped out, holding a scouts helmet under his arm. A small sigh, barely audible, escaped Ben's mouth. Behind him stood a few other clones in odd armor with black and red markings. But in between them Ben saw a glint of white. He jogged around to find the ARC and Solomon checking their guns for damage. He nearly yelled he was so happy, but there was an officer present. While one had died, at least it wasn't three.

**xxxxxXxxxxx**

The officer was obviously one of the wets who thought clones were over glorified droids. This officer was a fat rodian with a scarcely fitting uniform, not at all well kept, and an odor that couldn't be filtered by John's helmet.

John walked over to the rodian who was talking to Cassus and Boaz. A slight eyebrow raise from the commander asked a silent question. Cassus gave a slight gesture with his index finger. The clones in the squad knew it was the 'get out' sign. He heard the rodian laugh at the casualty number. John gave a hand up at waist level, palm facing towards his commander. 'I can handle this' it said.

"We lost two men from first company. We lost seven from second, two from third, and five from fourth. That puts us at 644 hundred men. They have been rearranged into companies of 161 men. " Boaz said somberly. "How long do we have until we reach the coordinates?"

The Rodian snorted, spitting on his mucus stained uniform.

"We have twelve days. The separatist cruiser in orbit forced our early flight. The length is due to the black rim. Perhaps if the clones built better equipment we could go faster. " His last comment seemed aimed at John. "Tell your men to stop dying so easily next time clone."

John was usually one to keep his composure around non-clone officers, but this was the exception. The rodian seemed quite surprised when the right cross connected with his left cheek. John was on top of him in a second, pounding his face into the durasteel deck. He vaguely remembered someone dragging him off from the weeping and moaning glutton, but he kicked and clawed until he was back on top of him. John didn't stop until the rodian was unconscious. His fists were covered in alien blood, and the jedi didn't pull him off. The rest had left and turned a blind eye. Boaz grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"I'll sort it." He said calmly. John walked away and ignored the glances and whispers from other clones. When he saw a pointing finger, he thought another fight was about to begin. Then the flight deck erupted into thunderous applause. John looked at the rodian being carried away. Seventeen black bags were carried behind him. John saw the one with Patch's label. John saluted. John didn't salute the rodian. He saluted his brothers.

**xxxxxXxxxxx**

Cassus walked down the long gray hallway. Two days on an acclamator cruiser wasn't his idea of fun. He had received his call to the briefing with little enthusiasm. Cassus had heard of clones who didn't care for Jedi. He hated them. Maybe the others were fine with the hypocritical order, but Cassus knew what they were. He remembered Geonosis. He saw the holofilms of the carnage. He still hadn't recovered from his blaster burn on his right side. A souvenir from Draxus 3.

The briefing room was fairly large. Ben sat in the corner, obviously trying hard to keep it together. He had been good friends with Patch. Ben didn't much care for fighting, but he seemed ready to punch someone out. The rest of the team filed in from the mess hall. Dom was telling another one of his bad puns. The ARC was the only one in full body armor. He had probably spent another lunch break shooting targets.

'Gentlemen, if you could all please calm down, we will get started." The generals liquid voice purred. There was a human female, about five foot seven, with brown hair and blue eyes, standing next to him. Cassus had never seen her before. A holo image of a planet covered in forests projected from the round table at the center of the room.

"This is a planet called Ren Sier. Three hundred years ago a shistavanen splinter group left Uvena Prime and colonized this world. While the planet now has some other species, they are the majority. There is a militia made up of an assumed one thousand shistavanen soldiers. The planets main export is a type of projectile rifles that use armor piercing rounds. The local militia have seized control of the factories making these weapons. There are several small factories, but there is one massive one in the capital city of Shistava. The cause of this act of aggression is this man."

The holo of the planet was replaced by a shistavanen male in Jedi robes. There was a twi'lek female with him, along with a male human, a male nikto, and a male arcona carrying a rifle. The arconan was the only one in the picture not a Jedi.

"This is former Jedi master Seth Kator. The twi'lek is named Malls, the human is Deel Kaal, and the nikto is called Kiith Morkis. The arcona is a bounty hunter named Bellator. About a month ago master Kator led these Jedi knights away from the path and fled from the order. These dark Jedi went to Ren Sier. It appears they have taken control of the planet. They monitor communications using this base."

Yet another image replaced the one on the holoprojector. A large square building with a metal comm tower in the center of a courtyard came up.

"If you and your squad take this position, we will not only have the landing area we need, but will have free communication throughout the planet. Be wary of Bellator. He may be even more dangerous than the dark Jedi. Two gunships will carry your men and my padawan Jalaina Sapphire. She will lead you to the armory. I think you'll like what Ben designed for you. Squad dismissed." The padawan gestured for the clones to follow. Cassus fell in next to Ben at the back of the group. The Jedi was saying something about how this was her first assignment.

"Are you okay, Ben?" Cassus asked. The man had hardly said a word since the warehouse.

"Did that dark Jedi order the ambush?" He asked, a dark tone creeping through his voice.

"He would have been the one. The boss we captured who gave us the coordinates was under orders from some shistavanen. That had to be Seth."

"Good." Ben muttered. "Then I can put a few rounds through him. He's gonna pay. That's a promise."


	6. Armory

**Author's Note: Hey guys, so happy that I've gotten so many views. Sorry it took me so long to post this. Hope you enjoy. Next chapter will be posted when I get three reviews or when I get some spare time.**

"_A warrior is more than his armor._"

―Mandalorian proverb

5

Armory

The hangar bay had a row of armor sets hanging from racks. Dom walked eagerly to the one that looked like commando armor. His new "_set of tech" _ as sargent Ehud would have called it, bore the black color with red markings like the rest of the 3rd shadow battalion.

"Quiet down please. If everyone would please give me their attention." A middle age duro exclaimed. "My name is Colonel Stither. I will be your armorer today. This armor was designed by myself with the help of CT/1999 also known as Ben. This armor has a custom plating that allows you to absorb at least one direct blaster shot. Be sure to let your shields regenerate after a direct hit. This plating also renders you invisible to radar scans. Most droids will have trouble seeing you, like you may have trouble seeing a shadow on a dark day. "

"The HUD is designed the same way for all of you. on the left are two bars, one blue, one green. The blue bar represents your shields. The green represents your overall health. If the bar is yellow, ask the HUD for a body systems update. If the bar turns red, call for a medic. Your HUD will also let you know if a squadmate is injured. There is also massive amounts of data able for you to access at any time. I will speak to you individually about your separate weapons.

**xxxXxxx**

Dom looked at the new armor. He liked the colors. There was a weapon of some sort slung across his chest plate. The rodian walked up behind him.

"Hello, Dom is it?. Your main weapon is a custom four shot grenade launcher. The tubes on your pack have been hollowed out. There are eight grenades in each tube. Red ones are standard, run off the mill explosives. The purple ones are nontoxic gas. The blue ones are EMPs. The brass ones are projectile rounds that will put a hole through just about anything. You have ten red, two blue, two purple, and two brass in the tubes. Your launcher is loaded with one of each right now. There is a holster on your left hip with a DC-15 pistol in it."

**xxxXxxx**

Ben looked at the clone gunner armor. He wasn't a gunner, but he was grateful for the extra chest and head protection. Then the duro came up next to him.

"I designed your loadout myself. You will carry a six shot projectile shotgun. This is a break action." The colonel demonstrated by pulling the front half of the weapon down. There was a small hole in the top that Sither gestured to. "Shells are loaded into this compartment. " He then flipped the gun up, closing it with a loud click. "The lever on the side is pulled back, loading one of the shells into the chamber. This weapon is semi automatic. Pull back the lever every time you reload. You also have a fusion cutter on your belt and two grenades in your backpack. There is a DC-15 pistol in your holster."

**xxxXxxx**

Jacob grabbed The WESTAR M-5 rifle off the rack. It had minor differences like an extendable stock and a detachable stock. The side said it was a WESTAR M-6. It was lighter, and seemed to be made of a composite material.

"Your arc trooper armor is standard in many ways. There is a DC-15 pistol in your belt holster. Your right arm carries a grappling hook. Your left gauntlet has an added extendable vibroblade. You also have a built in holo projector on your left is a disassembled DC-15x sniper rifle in the box behind you. You'll figure out the rest."

**xxxXxxx**

Solomon already had the armor on when the colonel came to speak with him. It appeared like most clone assassin armor did. But there were no vibroswords attached to it.

"Where are my blades?" He asked, letting his menacing tone scare the new the duro remained unfazed.

"Tell your helmet to activate blades." Stither ordered. Solomon obeyed and saw a red energy blade about a foot and a half long extend from each of his forearm plates

"These are lightsabers much like the ones your generals use. They are silent though. No humming, or hiss as it's activated. You can also electrify your gauntlets. These will stun an opponent and render them unconscious as well as deactivate most droids you shock, however they have a short recharge time. A handheld vibrosword will be attached to your back, and there is an ACP repeater rifle attached to your back plate. there are seven mags on the bandolier across your chest."

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus looked at the kama and pauldron. The ARC armor was bulkier than regular clone armor. He had changed into his helmet quickly. Just because his brothers accepted his scars didn't mean wets would. He remembered master Tarmin's reaction. Cassus should have accepted Boaz's offer the first time. He had spent a week with a jedi general on Muunilinst. He hated Jedi after that planet. He had never been fond of them, But Tripp Tarmin had confirmed his suspicions that Jedi were sadistic murderers.

"Lost in thought?" The duro scared him back into reality. "You know what you have in your loadout?" Cassus looked at the WESTAR M-6 rifle and his dual DC-17 pistols. The bandolier running from his right shoulder to his left hip crossed the extra armor plate on his chest. The extra plate was red, with a black 'V' in the center.

"Do I have grenades?" Cassus asked.

"You have three frag, EMP, and flashbang grenades. You also carry a mini drone able to be piloted with voice commands from your helmet. Oh, and one more thing." The Duro Gestured to his left gauntlet. "You will be fighting dark Jedi. Tell your helmet to activate shield." Cassus obeyed without question.A blood red round energy shield extended, the centerpoint being the middle of his left arm with a sharp hiss. It hummed as it was active.

"This weapon will deflect blaster bolts, but they damage it. There is something special about it, though. It feeds off of the energy output of lightsabers. The shield will not deactivate their weapon, but feeds off of the excess. It has twenty minutes power supply without combat. Blaster fire lowers the shield power. There is a an orange bar running across the bottom of your visor when it is activated. "

"And finally, your sword. Say activate blade." Stither commanded.

"Activate blade." A metal hilt slid into Cassus' hand. He pressed the thumb trigger. The black blade snapped out. Little white tendrils of electricity licked the edges of the darksaber. He was ready to fight.

**xxxXxxx**

Dante really wanted to light something on fire. He hadn't been able to use a flamethrower since the voyage started. He had begun building a homemade flamethrower in his quarters he was so bored. John stood next to him, looking equally bored. Then the duro started walking towards them.

"Both of you have larger sets of armor. They haven't been completed yet. John, you will have to use a standard shadow battalion loadout. Your armor is in your footlocker. Dante, you will be using a camouflage flame trooper armor set. We also understand you are building a flamethrower. That won't be necessary. We have a souped up BT X-42 heavy flamethrower for you. Your armor is also in your footlocker. You can have your flamethrower the day of the mission. We don't want any 'mysterious fires' starting anywhere on the ship. You both can see me for your side arms."


	7. Memories of a Troubled Man

"_Not all scars are on the surface."_

Padawan Jalaina Sapphire, when addressing the Jedi Council on the matter of clones unable to continue fighting.

6

Memories of a troubled man

Cassus walked to the mess hall in full body armor. He thought it was good for the clones to see him as their commander. He barely knew anyone in here besides his squad. After getting a bowl of nerf stew, he sat alone in a corner table. That was his first mistake.

Jalaina walked to the mess hall with a few of the troopers. They were shy at first, but after about a day the men seemed to be opening up to her. They were two days out from the planet Ren Sier. She had gotten to know the specialist squad pretty well, but the commander always seemed to find a way out of a conversation with her. She walked into the mess hall to a chaos of force signatures.

Cassus, at least Jalaina thought that was his name, was sitting alone in the corner. She grabbed her meal and started walking towards him. As she approached, the commander replaced his helmet and stood with his tray to leave. He probably thought she wouldn't notice he had barely touched his food. He was obviously avoiding her. His anger spiked. He seemed to have a deep hatred for her, no, not her, her kind.

"Please sit down trooper." She said. He said something like '_Osik' _under his breath. He sat down across from her. "You should remove your helmet." She said lightly.

"Ma'am, I would rather not. " He exclaimed venomously. She sensed his anger again. No, it wasn't anger, it was _fear. _

"Its okay trooper. I don't see what the big deal is. Just do it. " Jalaina insisted. With shaking hands, he pulled off the black and red helmet. Jalaina gasped in disbelief. She had seen injured clones before, but never to this extent. Cassus' face was a crisscross of scars and injuries. His nose was crooked, and he had a half a dozen holes in his ears. They were all small, but still large enough to be visible. His left eye was all silver, a prothstetic, and his right eye was completely red besides the pupil.

"Not what you expected?" He said viciously. "This is what you people do to clones."

"A Jedi did this to you?" Jalaina couldn't believe it.

"Not all of it. But I'm not the worst. You claim to be so righteous, but really, you and your kind are killers." On that note, Cassus stood and left, replacing his helmet as he walked out the door.

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus swung his training saber in a downward arc towards Solomon. This was the twentieth session in ten days. He parried two blows from Solomons left, then shoved his practice shield forward. Solomon had two durasteel bars strapped to his arms. He slid underneath the shield on his knees, attempting to "Cut off" Cassus' legs. The commander jumped over and spun, bringing his bar to bear between Solomon's shoulders. The assassin doged. Cassus began pushing him back, fighting relentlessly, letting the anger of his earlier conversation drive him forward.

Solomon backpedalled, falling victim to the constant strikes. He dropped to his knees. Cassus swung as hard as he could in a diagonal upward arc. There was a sickening '_thwack' _. The melee specialist collapsed.

**xxxXxxx**

Jacob reassembled his M-6. They would be deployed in two hours. Equipment had to be in prime condition. He was sitting on one of the large support beams on the roof of the hangar bay. He had seen a few clones point, but none had asked him to leave yet. Then again, Jacob didn't know many people willing to mess with an ARC. He looked down the scope. After picking out every individual in the hangar bay twice, he was satisfied. Boaz was talking with some clones of the 3rd when he looked up at Jacob. Then he jumped the massive distance and landed next to the astonished ARC.

"Are you ready for your first assignment with the battalion?" Boaz asked.

"I am." Jacob whispered, giving away nothing.

"Do you think the squad is ready? You're the only one I can ask. Please be honest. Most of the men are crazy. Cassus is a whirlpool of hate and regret. Solomon and John both want to fight I can barely keep them from shooting at each other or anything else that moves. Can you do this?"

"We will perform to expected standards." Jacob believed it to. No other unit was like theirs.

"Then let's take a planet."

**xxxXxxx**

John put on his armor and stared at his bucket. How many clones had died behind that anonymous mask? Enough to make most men think twice about going to war. John wasn't most men. Putting on his helmet, he grabbed the DC-15a. Time to fight.


	8. Freefall

**A/N: Hey everyone, just got some spare time, sorry it took me so long but here you go. I will try to have chapter 8 up by Sunday.**

_You're brothers. Nothing will ever change that. No matter what happens, remember that."_

-Sargent Ehud, Three hours before the deployment to Geonosis.

7

Freefall

Boaz felt the men through the force. They were a chaos of anger, happiness, courage, fear, and excitement. Boaz just felt concerned. As the general in charge of this squad, every man's death was his fault.

"Men, FALL IN!" Cassus yelled. The commander thought Boaz didn't know about his hate of Jedi. But Boaz knew. He could feel the dark whirlpool of emotions swirling around the scarred clone. The rest of the men formed a straight line, each one wearing specialized armor.

"Squad, at ease." The gurlanin said. The men put their feet at shoulder width apart and put their weapons at their sides. Cassus fell in beside them. Jalaina stood a few feet away with her arms crossed.

"War is not pretty. War is death and destruction. But war is necessary at this time in history. We find ourselves in the middle of the greatest conflict in galactic history. While there are millions of clones fighting in this war, there are none I would rather serve with than you. See you on the other side." The clones turned without a word and boarded the gunship.

"Master, why does Cassus hate Jedi?" Jalaina asked quickly.

"I don't know. There was one week after I offered him the assignment before he accepted it. All I could find out was he was assigned to Jedi knight Norin Valer." Boaz explained.

Jalaina gasped quietly. Norin Valer was a zabrak known for being vain and rash. What had happened in that time to make him so bitter?

Boaz watched as his new padawan stepped onto the gunship. He turned before his face could betray his emotions. He may have just sent more people to their deaths.

**xxxXxxx**

Dom felt the round from anti aircraft fire strike the front of the LAAT/i gunship. The enemy had obviously built more defenses since the last recon. That was the problem with intelligence. By the time the senate got off their _shebs _and deployed troops it was useless. His helmet comm was a flurry of orders and commands. Dante was squealing with delight. Probably because the engines had caught on fire. With a loud boom the engine exploded, slitting the ship in two. Cassus and the Jedi were on the other side. The ARC fell out at some point. The rest of the clones jumped. Dom realized he was in a freefall. The rest of the squad were silent. Dom saw a canopy of trees. Then, a fully armored commando with a forty kilo pack hit the ground at thirty miles an hour.

**xxxXxxx**

Jacob checked his rifle. It appeared to have suffered no damage. The new composite material must be pretty good to have survived that. Voices came from the north. Without thinking the ARC dropped to one knee and covered the path where the new possible hostiles had come from. A squad of seven militia came around a bend in the small road. Jacob adjusted his noise monitor and listened to the soldiers.

"Keep moving south. Find the republic creatures." The sergeant ordered. Then the first three rounds hit his chest. The others looked around dumbfounded. Jacob switched to fully automatic and took advantage of their confusion. After twenty seconds it was over. The ARC walked up to the shistavanen. They hadn't fired a single round.

Jacob started jogging on the path. If he worked hard he could probably make it to the rendezvous point by dawn.

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus shot six more rounds at the advancing squad. The first squad was dead, but his blaster fire had attracted the attention of a second. He was pinned down. Drawing his sidearm, he sprinted for the nearest tree. But no one shot at him. After thirty seconds, he risked a glance over the large branch acting as his padawan was standing there with her deactivated lightsaber in her hand.

Cassus walked through the trees and bushes. The militia lay on the ground dead. He picked up one of their rifles. It had a real wood stock with a square magazine and a suppressor. The magazines held ten rounds.

"Here, hold this." The clone said tossing her the rifle. He grabbed a bandolier off of one soldier and gave that to her as well. Cassus then picked up another rifle for himself and slung a backpack over his soldier. He clipped the bandolier around his chest, across the one holding his blaster ammunition.

"These weapons are silent. We need to start moving towards the rendezvous point. If we hurry we can make it to the point in three hours." Cassus bluntly stated. Then the padawan collapsed onto the ground. Without thinking he dropped to her side. She had been shot through the side and had lost some blood. Another round whizzed past his head. The clone ran for cover. He then slid beside a tree and snapped his rifle to the point where the last shot had come from.

One round flew past his left side. He fired three shots and crouched behind the tree. Then four shots came from the Jedi's position, striking the hostile in the leg, chest, and head. Cassus looked over to see Jalaina standing straight up, the rifle to her shoulder.

"What were you thinking." Cassus was almost shouting. "You could have been killed."

"Be quiet." She said, probably to keep him from attracting more unwanted attention. "I had it under control. You drew his fire so I could get a clear shot." She smiled.

"Listen, if he had thought you weren't quite dead, he would have shot and confirmed his kill. Are you actually hurt?" He asked, letting his frustration show.

"It's nothing." She grimaced. Her hand was at her wound, covered in blood.

"Hold still." Cassus sprayed it with bacta and then wrapped it with a black bandage. "You could've gotten us killed" He scolded. "Are you okay to move?" She nodded. Then the two commanders started moving towards the enemy position.

**xxxXxxx**

Kiith Morkis knew they had arrived. Already six squads were out of contact. These militia were deadly, but the middle of the night in the most out of the way outpost wasn't where you expected an attack. The patrols had been caught off guard.

He reached out with the force, sensing the new soldiers. Morkis was an expert in force location. The first five in the southwest. One was in the southeast. And one was moving with a jedi up from the south. They would all be here in five hours at best.

One of the shistavanen lieutenants jogged to him. His name was Blik Noft. He had been in charge of this outpost when Kiith's master seized power. Like most officers, he supported the change in leadership and was fiercely loyal.

"Sir, three squads have reported in. We have twenty men at the fort, and twenty one out in the field looking for the republic forces." The lieutenant said saluting.

"Pull all forces back to the base and prepare for an assault." The nikto ordered.

"Sir, should we also notify General Kator?" The lieutenant almost seemed commanding. But if Morkis contacted his master now, it would make him look weak, especially after the three squads that were now confirmed dead.

"That won't be necessary. And one more thing. Get me the file on the Kronos Project. It will tell you I am denied access. Use authorization code 1130987" The shistavanen bowed slightly and left. It was time Morkis knew about the true reason his master was here.


	9. Regroup

"_It doesn't matter who pulls the trigger. A blaster round still scars."_

_- _Jedi Master Boaz, when instructing his first padawan.

8

Regroup

Jalaina had been jogging at a brisk pace for an hour. She stopped for a minute and rested. Cassus sat on a fallen tree across from her. He was still a whirlpool of anger, but now he also felt concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a concerned tone. He immediately became defensive. His thoughts became focused on anything but being worried.

"Nothing. Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself!" He spat. She reeled from the insult.

"Cassus, if there's something that endangers this mission or the lives of your men, I order you to tell me." She commanded.

"It's me!" He yelled. "I'm the problem. I don't have any way of protecting my men. I'm just useless. I'm back on Fondor, back on Draxus 3, back on Geonosis! I've lost 825 men! I can't lead them!" He began sobbing uncontrollably. Jalaina reached out to him with the force, but he shut her out.

"NO! Never ever do that! NEVER!" He continued sobbing.

After about ten minutes he quieted down. Without another word he got up and began jogging north.

**xxxXxxx**

Solomon fired his ACP repeater into the canopy above him. A dark form fell from the treetops and hit the ground with a '_whump'._ Ben moved forward and Dom covered him with his sidearm.

"He's dead." Solomon's voice croaked through the helmet comm. John was moving northeast to intercept the commanders. The ARC was somewhere to the east of them, but long range comms would be a mistake. Then the enemy would know exactly where they were. They were twenty minutes away from the rendezvous point. Without warning solomon, the calmest of them all, started screaming.

**xxxXxxx**

Kiith had learned the ability to create fear in others from an ancient sith holocron. The problem with using the force to locate living things was when things were living everywhere around them. The forest dulled his ability to get an accurate fix on the clones' positions. Fighting had broken out between the single clone and the three man patrol he had sent out. They were dead like the other incompetent officers. The Kronos Project should solve that though.

The screams of the assassin pierced the eerie silence. Three armed shistavanen jogged up to him.

"Go. Find and kill the clones. Bring me their helmets and rifles so I may know it is finished." The militia men saluted, then jogged off into the dense treeline. Morkis then felt the cold muzzle of a blaster pistol against the back of his forehead.

"Does the master know you have taken the files?" The low voice whispered. Bellator had arrived. "Did you really think you could hide it from me?"

"You are mistaken." Kiith quickly searched his brain for a valid excuse to be looking at classified files.

"Don't worry. I'm with you. But now isn't the time for a coup, we need to wait. Give me the files." The arcona demanded. Morkis didn't have any other choice. He relinquished the data chip. The muzzle was removed from his head. When the disturbed nikto turned around, Bellator was gone.

"_Osik."_ He muttered.

**xxxXxxx**

Jacob had disposed of the patrol group's bodies. He reached for his bottle. The rest of the squad was still on its way to the rendezvous point. The ARC jumped four feet and grabbed the branch directly above head. After pulling himself into his perch, he looked down the scope of his WESTAR M-6. It was time to hunt.

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus heard the slight rustle of leaves. Swinging his M-6, the commander ejected his vibroblade. With one step he was on top of the bush containing the possible hostile. The voice of his training officer played through his head. 'Locate, assess, neutralize. Kill or detain, but never hesitate.' After a long line of expletives in _mando'a _two soldiers walked out. Jalaina stood speechless.

"Hey Cassus, I know you missed me, but maybe a little less enthusiasm is okay." John was obviously grinning underneath his bucket. "Now we have to get moving. Don't want the rest of the squad to get there first." Then they heard the screaming.

**xxxXxxx**

Solomon felt emotion. Most of his brothers thought he didn't. But he felt more deeply than most clones. He could still hear the blaster fire that mowed down Jay. The explosion still made his ears ring. That was when Hebron lost his torso. Sonic shots killed Gi'Ka. Jesse was MIA. The men he had grown up with, trained with, ate with, and known his whole life, had been killed on the bloodiest day Solomon had ever seen.

So after that day, Solomon chose not to feel. He chose to show no emotion. He still felt happy and sad and fear, he just never showed it. And now he couldn't stop screaming. He saw them. He didn't see them in his minds eye, he actually SAW them. They were back on geonosis. He kept yelling for Jay to stop, that it was a trap. Jay wouldn't listen.

Hebron was running towards the hailfire droid. Solomon tackled him, but somehow went right through him. He saw the explosion, saw his friend die. Jesse was being carried away by the geonosians. Solomon fired his sidearm at them, but they wouldn't die. They just kept flying.

Then Solomon was alone. He was back in enemy territory, with no help from the men he had called brothers. Sonic fire echoed all around him. Then he was back in the forrest. Then Geonosis, then Coruscant. All his regrets played out before him. Nothing could be changed. Solomon couldn't stop screaming. Then the world became a blur. Slowly, the hallucinations faded. With them went consciousness, reality, and the will to fight.

**xxxXxxx**

Ben had injected the sedative before the enemy could get any closer. He had never heard any clone scream like that. The shotgun seemed to be growing heavier. His body told him to stop, rest, recover, but he knew he had to go on. Dante was carrying the unconscious assassin over his shoulders. A dark form dropped from the tree above him. Ben instinctively swung his shotgun stock into the new enemy. Jacob obviously didn't appreciate this. He got up from the ground and removed his helmet.

"Well hello to you to brother." He looked at everyone present."Where are the other three?"

"We sent John to find the commander, and…" Dom was interrupted by the clone commander walking through the underbrush.

"And it turns out we found him." Two other humans emerged from behind a large tree. "Now what's the plan?"

**xxxXxxx**

Bellator looked down his scope at the republic soldiers. He could kill them all now, but it was better to wait and see how things played out. He could always shoot them later, and he would be watching closely.


	10. Ghosts of a Soldier

**A/N: Hey everybody, here's chapter nine for you. I will be unable to update this story for at least a week, so I apologize for that. Hope you enjoy!**

"_Mando'ad draar digu_ - Translation: A Mandalorian never forgets"

9

Ghosts of a soldier

Morkis watched the single gate open. The three Shistavanen he had sent out had returned. They weren't carrying anything!

"Didn't I order you to bring me their rifles and helmets? Where are they?!" He shouted. One of the militia men stepped forward.

"Sir, assault would have been a mistake. They had gathered by that point. We would have been facing better armed, better equipped, and more numerous enemy. We did find out that their forces in space are sending gunships in three hours. I suggest we hold this position, and let our anti aircraft guns destroy republic forces." The sergeant saluted and then took a step back.

"Well done. For your judgement, you are now promoted to lieutenant. Prepare the men to combat these clone whelps. I must speak with my master. Set charges on the comm tower. I would rather destroy it than risk it falling into enemy hands."

Morkis walked from the courtyard into the square command center/barracks. On the second floor the armory stood next to his personal quarters. The nikto locked the door and activated his personal holoprojector.

"What requires my service Kiith?" The doglike face of Seth Kator appeared in a dull blue light. Even without feeling him in the force, Kiith knew his master was furious. "Why did you have to wake me at this hour?"

"Apologizes my lord, but there is urgent news." Kiith Morkis had greater ambitions than this sniveling, over pompous ruler. For now though, it was best to appease this useless and unhelpful 'Master'. "Republic forces have landed. There are currently nine waiting in the forest to the south of my position. I await orders."

"Nine? You really are incompetent aren't you. Hold that position!" Without another word, Seth broke the link. Morkis opened one of his cabinets. Inside was a lightsaber, two grenades, and a DC-17 pistol. He stuffed the grenades and the pistol inside his cloak. clipping the lightsaber onto his belt, he reached for his comm. The republic would die, and then Kiith Morkis would call his followers. Seth Kator would fall, and the planet with him.

**xxxXxxx**

"We need to take out the communications tower. If the gunships try to land, they'll be slaughtered by those anti aircraft guns. Dom, you and Jacob will go Northeast and attack from there. Try to bring down the tower. The rest of us will move up from here. Any questions?" Cassus was nervous. The padawan hadn't told anyone about his breakdown, but he didn't know what to make of that. This would also be his first battle against a legitimate prepared army since Geonosis. The mercenaries he fought in the warehouse had been dangerous, and they were unorganized.

"Sir, I think you and the commander should move northwest and try to advance from there." Jacob phrased it like an order. There was a murmur of agreements from the other men. And the last thing Cassus needed was more time with the Jedi girl. He still wasn't sure what he should do about the incident.

"Men, we will all advance at sunrise. Jacob, Dom, get moving. The padawan and I will leave now as well. No communications." Cassus began jogging northwest. He didn't look to see if Jalaina was following.

**xxxXxxx**

Dom saw just a glint of sunlight. Without thinking he began jogging towards the base. Jacob followed him without a word. after an hour they had reached the large base. The walls had gun emplacements built in, three on each of the four walls. Jacob began to climb. Dom followed him up the small ascension cable.

On top of the wall were two shistavanen militia. Both clones blasted before they could sound the alarm. The noise attracted attention though. Dom holstered his pistol and unslung his grenade launcher. He checked to make sure the explosive was first in line. He aimed carefully, paying no heed to the flurry of bullets around him. He exhaled and pulled the trigger.

_Boom! _The explosion rocked the foundation of the fort. Dom's explosives weren't that powerful. Before he could finish wondering why the tower had just been destroyed in a fireball a round struck his shoulder. It felt like a punch with an armored gauntlet. The wound was bleeding.

**xxxXxxx**

"Cassus, why do you hate jedi? Are we so different than you?" Jalaina asked about ten minutes before sunrise. Cassus sighed heavily. He supposed he owed her an explanation after his breakdown. Removing his gauntlet, the clone peeled back the synthflesh on his right arm. The gears and servos underneath clicked and whirred. Jalaina just stared.

" I already disliked jedi. They were commanding my men on Geonosis when I crashed. Had one of the generals not led them in a direct assault on the factory, they might still be alive. That's when I met your master. When the general offered me the job, I turned him down. So I was shipped to Drixol 3. There I was put in charge of a platoon under the command of Norin Valer. Valer was a tactical idiot and a _shabuir_. He ordered an all out charge at the enemy position."

"He didn't realize how dug in the enemy was. Two platoons were killed in three minutes. Mine made it to the wall, destroyed a few enemies, but were forced to retreat. When we got back to cover, there were eleven of us left. Norin was furious. He pulled us back three hundred yards, enough so that we wouldn't be pursued. He ordered all the men to set their rifles twenty feet away. Then they lined up against a building. I was the only one told to keep my weapon and to stay where I was."

"Norin Valer then ordered me to execute my men. I refused twice. Then he said if I didn't, he would. So I raised my DC-15s, flicked the safety off, and took aim. I tried to swing my rifle around and shoot him, but he severed my right arm just below the elbow. he then burned my back with his blade and stabbed my shoulder. Using the force, he shoved me across an open area into a building. Valer threw his lightsaber and removed the heads from my men. I stood up, drew my pistol with my left hand, and shot him. I didn't stop shooting him. I just kept firing until he stopped squirming. The medevac found me unconscious an hour later. That's when I became the commander of this squad."

There were tears in the Jedi's eyes. He replaced the gauntlet and synthflesh. The sun was beginning to rise. He gestured for her to follow him. It was time to finish this.


	11. Commencement of Invasion

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it took me so long to post this chapter. I wrote a little extra so enjoy. Next chapter comes with four reviews.**

"_Fighting is strange. Time becomes irrelevant. So does compassion, peace, and any other thing that doesn't involve shooting your enemy before he shoots you." _

-General Boaz, when speaking before the jedi council on the issue of anger in battle.

10

Commencement of Invasion

Dante really liked to set things on fire. The explosion that had destroyed the communications tower left a small ring of flames on the center building. Besides the commanders, all of the clones were now inside the building. Trees burned on the other side of the wall, a result of the crazed clones extreme obsession with setting fires.

A group of militia turned the corner, right into the path of a wall of flames. Dante giggled like a child. They screamed in terror. The camouflaged flame trooper moved into the building. When he looked behind, he saw the jedi and commander Cassus sliding down the wall. Resistance was diminishing. Moving through the command center, Dante heard another explosion. Then he returned to burning things. When he had finished, you could hardly tell there had ever been computer terminals there.

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus fired round after round from the semi-automatic projectile rifle. The fighting was beginning to slow down as the anti aircraft guns ceased firing. A tall nikto walked from the shadows.

"My name is Kiith Morkis. I am the officer in charge of this base. Surrender, or I will use force." Before anyone could respond, he drew a sidearm and shot Jalaina through the left side. She collapsed. Cassus went down on one knee, checking for vital signs.

"Anyone else?" Morkis smiled triumphantly. "No? Then lay down your…" He never finished the sentence. Two red blades protruded from his chest. Then the dark jedi died.

**xxxXxxx**

Seth Kator was usually very smart. But everyone was prone to bad judgement. He knew the comm station had been destroyed before his lieutenant Jarl Ur told him. Morkis was the least skilled of all the dark jedi on Ren Sier. He had hoped the republic would have ignored the comm station at first. It was supposed to be a backwater assignment. Something to keep Kiith from starting the rebellion he obviously craved.

Seth Kator now had lost his communications monitoring, but the war would soon be won. It was time to assemble the other jedi. Unlike Morkis, these jedi realized the benefit of working together for a common goal. The sith empire had many times fallen due to a lack of cooperation.

"Lieutenant, wake Deel Kaal and Malls. We are now officially at war. And bring me an update on the Kronos project. The republic is ready to fall. We mustn't keep it waiting."

**xxxXxxx**

Jalaina woke up in a med-bay. The droid assigned to her room powered up as soon as she regained consciousness. There was an array of different monitors and machines hooked up to her. She turned her head to see Cassus sitting on a chair on the right side of the bed. He smiled up at her. There was a weeks worth of a beard growing on his face. There were lines where hair wouldn't grow. They matched his scars perfectly.

"Commander." He inclined his head towards her. Without another word, he stood up and left.

"Med droid, identify." She croaked. Her throat was dry and pained.

"I am 2-7-1-M. Your surgeon is currently on lunch break. Please lay back down and rest." Two seven one M phrased the last sentence more like an order than a request.

"2-7-1-M, how long have I been unconscious?" Jalaina made a move to get up, but 2-7-1-M pushed her down gently.

"You have been unconscious for seven days and three hours. It is currently around twelve o'clock on Ren Sier, and five PM galactic standard. Please, rest. If you attempt to get up again, I will have no choice but to sedate you." Reluctantly. Jalaina laid back down.

She awoke with a start, not realizing she had fallen asleep. Before the med droid activated, Jalaina locked its systems in shutdown. Getting off the bed, she reached for her robes which were neatly folded on a chair. Once she again looked like a jedi, she walked out of the room that had held her for over a week.

The place was unfamiliar. Clones were hanging around seperate rooms, some relaxing, some playing games or working out. This wasn't the acclamator cruiser _Phantom's Blade._

Gunshots were coming from down the hallway. She dashed down to their location, giving herself a boost with the force. The clones in the shooting range seemed quite surprised to see an officer holding an activated lightsaber in the middle of their training session. Except for Cassus. He just kept firing at the targets.

Styrofoam bodies swung up from the floor or down from the ceiling, only to be blown apart by a WESTAR M-6. When he ran out of ammo, he didn't even bother to reload. The targets were coming too fast now. He drew his DC-15 blaster pistol and fired seven more rounds before a loud buzzer rang out.

Holstering his pistol, Cassus reached for the rifle he had been forced to drop and walked over to her.

"Ma'am. Can I help you with anything?" She didn't realize she had been staring.

"No," She said looking away for a moment. "I was just wondering why you were in my med room when I woke up."

"This may sound weird to you, but I don't trust droids. Haven't since Geonosis. I was making the rounds, checking up on the troopers, and I was just in your room when you woke up on accident."

" After I left, I went to check on Solomon. The Nikto had rigged a grenade to explode should he die. The shrapnel hurt our assassin pretty bad. He's still in med-bay." Cassus started walking towards the door when Jalaina stopped him.

"This will sound even weirder, but where am I?" Cassus looked puzzled for a moment, and then realized she meant the building.

"Welcome to the republic outpost on Ren Sier. Thanks to Dante's burning spree, there is a ring of open area where there was a forest. It's about a hundred yards out, so we shouldn't have to worry about being attacked. This place is built around the comm station we assaulted. And…" The clone was interrupted by the beep of a commlink. "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

**xxxXxxx**

Cassus jogged through the jungle to a small natural bunker, with lots of cover from trees. There were eight clones laying dead on the ground. Three of them were lying in small pools of blood. Boaz stood solemnly as medics checked each of the bodies. Five had holes through their chests, perfect shots.

"Commander. What do you make of this?" Cassus could have sworn he saw tears in the general's eyes at that moment, but the gurlanin turned before he had a chance to confirm it.

"Cassus, we are in the briefing room. Bring Boaz. We have decrypted the video feed from their damaged helmets." Jacob seemed agitated. "We have a problem."

**xxxXxxx**

The briefing room was crowded, filled with shadow clones in their custom phase two armor. ARCs weren't usually claustrophobic, but this was an exception. Cassus and Boaz walked in, each holding WESTAR M-6 rifles. Cassus was in full armor minus his helmet, while Boaz was in his human form. The bald jedi was wearing custom Neo crusader armor that was built for stealth. He had removed his helmet as he walked into the room.

"Everyone, this is the only video we could recover, and it's about twelve seconds." Jacob brought it up on the screen. The men in the room watched intently as the first person veiw played out. Four seconds passed with nothing. Then a blur shot out and red rounds flew over his were a few screams, then it was over.

"Whatever attacked these men, it could have been militia, but they would have been the ones that stole third squads blasters yesterday. We believe they used bayonets as well." Jacob opened his mouth to finish but was interrupted.

"It." Cassus said.

"What do you mean it?" Jacob was confused.

"You said they. The correct term is it. Replay video frame by frame, and you'll see evidence of a single assailant. The blaster shots were red. Our rifles shoot blue bolts, and the rifle Bellator is known to carry fires yellow shots. This thing isn't in our intelligence reports." Cassus didn't look smug when he said that, just determined.

"Thank you commander. I have already taken the liberty of assigning two troopers as investigators. They are at the sight as we speak. Troopers are dismissed. Cassus and Boaz, please remain here for a moment." The room emptied fast, leaving only Jacob, Cassus, and a very frustrated Jedi master.

"How should we respond to this threat?" Boaz seemed to be taking these clones deaths very personally.

"My suggestion is we wait, and continue with the Days of Fire campaign. This new enemy is mysterious, and it appears to have left little to no evidence. We don't really have another option."

"Do you know where everyone is?" Cassus asked.

"John and Dante are getting refitted with their new tech, Dom is probably building more explosives. Solomon requested you meet him in the training area for more practice, and Ben is designing a mobile mini turret. Also, the gunship bringing the armorer down here has a new squadmate for us." Jacob walked out without saying anything else.

"Cassus, go meet your new man. I have to prepare the troops. We start the campaign in three days." Boaz left, leaving Cassus alone in the room. He replaced his helmet. Time for the real battle of Ren Sier to begin.

**xxxXxxx**

Dante looked at the impressive blaze trooper armor. The flamethrowers held extra fuel, and there was a projectile shotgun mounted on his right arm directly under the black barrel of his favorite tool.

"Do you like it?" Dante jumped as the armorer walked up behind him. "You have heard of laser flares, correct?" The pyro nodded. "Fire doesn't burn in the vacuum of space. You also needed a ranged weapon. You have a laser flare gun attached to your belt. Use it for targets at long distances, but be wary, it can start a fire in a building very easily. Don't kill your comrades 'cause you don't think friendly fire applies to you. There's also a mechanical ram attached to your backpack."

**xxxXxxx**

The Goliath Mark 2/s was impressive. John couldn't wait to be the pilot of a mech suit again. It bore the red and black like the armor of all troopers in this strange battalion.

"John, unlike the Goliath Mark 1, this variant allows the pilot to enter the cockpit wearing normal trooper armor, not specialized gear. You can enter and leave in a matter of seconds, rather than the long and tedious way it was done in the mark one. Your armor has a beacon in it, that when activated, the Goliath Mark 2/s will move to your position within five meters. The jump pack on the mark 2 is able to fly for twenty seconds before a two minute recharge." Colonel Stither straightened his gray uniform.

"What about weapons?" John looked up and down the new tank-like structure.

"There are two trandoshan ACP Heavy Repeaters mounted on the right forearm. Each can be fired for seven minutes straight, so you should be able to fight for long amounts of time. Ben and I also installed a shoulder mounted PLX-1 on the left. It holds six missiles. Your left arm has a cutting laser, and your right shoulder has an automatic grenade launcher. The blast radius is small however. Use the grenades as anti aircraft weapons. And your primary weapon is a rifle. Sized to fit the new armor, this projectile launcher fires hollowpoint rounds." The Duro beamed. "One last thing. This set of armor runs on a thermo nuclear power core. You can self destruct it from a distance with your helmet as long as the comm array is still intact on the mark 2." The colonel left, walking briskly past the commander.

Cassus was almost sprinting by the time John met him. He was clearly agitated.

"Where is he?" The officer demanded.

"Who?" John got a puzzled look on his face. Cassus was acting strange.

"The spy. He's the new member of our team."

"The name's Nightshade. Most people call me Bothan though." From out of nowhere came a clone with a solid black armor. The colors shifted on with to blend in with the surrounding area. John had never seen active camo before. Finally, the colors stopped changing, and the shadow became material.

"I'll be helping you win this war." Nightshade removed his helmet. "Please show me to the briefing room."


End file.
